Welcome, Del. Brian Moran

We're pleased to have Del. Brian Moran with us for the next hour to answer your questions. Brian, who lives in Alexandria, is the House Democratic Caucus Chairman and he's leading the fight to bring more Democrats into the House of Delegates, where Republicans currently hold an 11-seat edge.

Several of you have already weighed on topics ranging from illegal immigration to Fort Monroe. And with the General Assembly races beginning to heat up, there's nothing wrong with asking about politics. In fact, we probably have more questions than he can answer in 60 minutes, but that's OK.

Del. Moran, the Shad Plank is all yours for the next hour. (We're told he may be running a few minutes late, so be patient.) Here are the questions that were submitted in advance.

(Click on Comments to see Del. Moran's answers.)

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Our experience in Prince William County has shown that the Section 287(g) Program has dramatically improved our ability to identify criminal illegal aliens and have them deported. In the first month of operation, we deported 56 illegal aliens and identified 80 additional illegal aliens on which detainers have been placed.

Now that the benefits of this program have been demonstrated, are you now willing to call on the Governor to enroll the State Department of Corrections and the State Police in the Section 287(g) Program so we can stop releasing (for example) convicted illegal alien sex offenders and have them deported instead?

Posted by: Greg L |

In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, some have advocated changing the standard by which the mentally ill can be detained against their will. The current threshold is that someone must present an "imminent danger" to himself or others. Should this be broadened to say that a person must present "a significant risk" to himself or others?

Posted by: Hugh Lessig | Monday, October 08, 2007 at 03:24 PM

It seems like the national trend toward Democrats is going to help in races for the General Assembly in November - how much do you trust national polls and how much are you banking on that mood?

Posted by: Kimball | Monday, October 08, 2007 at 04:23 PM

Most folks are predicting that the House will stay with the GOP - while the Senate could fall to the Democrats. How would a Democratic Senate change how you and your caucus work in the House? Is it the redistricting side of things that is so crucial?

Posted by: Kimball | Monday, October 08, 2007 at 04:26 PM

Local officials in Hampton Roads are hoping that they can alter the taxes and fees that fund the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority - is there any real chance that a different set of fees and taxes gets serious debate in the House of Delegates? Isn't transportation still a radioactive issue for many lawmakers?

Posted by: Kimball | Monday, October 08, 2007 at 04:27 PM

Hampton Roads - and the Peninsula in particular - used to have some serious powerhouse Democrats - Del. Alan Diamonstein and Sen. Hunter Andrews come to mind. Are there any rising star Democrats in Hampton Roads? Where has that power gone?

Posted by: Kimball | Monday, October 08, 2007 at 04:31 PM

Del. Moran

Thanks for taking our questions. My question: how many seats are you projecting that the Democrats will pick up in the House in 2007?

Posted by: Vivian J. Paige | Monday, October 08, 2007 at 08:04 PM

Del. Moran

The Senate last year passed a measure that would set up non-partisan redistricting but the bill failed in the House. If the Democrats regain the majority in the House and Senate, will they support this legislation, thereby removing the drawing of lines from the hands of the party in charge?

Posted by: Vivian J. Paige | Monday, October 08, 2007 at 08:09 PM

Del. Moran:
Let's say you have one sentence, and only one sentence, to tell Virginia voters why they should vote for Democratic House candidates this November. What is it?

Posted by: Dan Geroe | Tuesday, October 09, 2007 at 02:14 AM

Thanks for this opportunity. Mrs. Stall, in partnership with Del. Gear, has made a campaign issue with a "Fort Monroe is under attack!" flyer alleging that Mr. Miller is in cahoots with big developers who want to ruin that national treasure that's soon to be entrusted back to Virginians. The grain -- no, boulder -- of truth is the threat of inappropriate development, an alarm raised also by APVA Preservation Virginia and the Civil War Preservation Trust (http://www.cfmnp.org/APVA.htm and http://www.cfmnp.org/fort_monroe_at_risk.htm ). Gov. Kaine worked with Republican Sen. Marty Williams to pass the Fort Monroe Kaine-Williams Act, which got us to the present situation. Rep. Scott blessed it. Sen. Webb was silent. Later Mrs. Stall ousted Sen. Williams by persuading some voters that he was unresponsive to what people actually want. Well, nobody but a powerful Hampton handful, plus the Kaine administration, wants Fort Monroe piecemeal-privatized and developed inappropriately, especially given that making all of Fort Monroe into a grand public place would do a better job of enriching us -- in multiple senses -- anyway. Del. Moran, when are Democrats finally going to stand up and start acting like genuine Democrats concerning Fort Monroe?

Posted by: Steve Corneliussen | Tuesday, October 09, 2007 at 07:52 AM

Hi, Delegate Moran!

When you learn that a delegate has been named "Legislator of the Year" by the Family Foundation (or as we like to call them - the Some Families Foundation, as they only represent 16% of all Virginia families and ignore the other 84% of families in Virginia that contradict their time-warped definition of "family"), what does that tell you about that legislator?

Thanks.

Posted by: eileen | Tuesday, October 09, 2007 at 08:23 AM

Comments

[John]

Thanks for the "foreclosure rescue consultants" who have helped me to save my hard earned property from being foreclosed.

[John]

Foreclosure victims should also be concerned about the danger of the bank suing them after foreclosure and trying to take the new house or attach a lien to it. If the house does not sell at sheriff sale for an amount to pay off the defaulted loan plus the extra foreclosure costs and late fees, the bank may be able to sue for a deficiency judgment and come after any other assets owned by the former homeowners. The bank will have to proceed with a new lawsuit after the foreclosure process is over, though, which will cost them additional time and resources.
http://www.thejohnbeck.tv

[Dana]

Del. Moran,
Thank you for responding to our comments, This is much appreciated!
My question is this: Virginians have slowly been drained of money at the hands of Payday Lenders legally for the past five years. Everyday, I hear from people who have been caught in the debt cycle payday loans can create, and hear the stories of middle and low income folks who thought the loans would be a quick money shortage solution, but have found themselves in the quicksand of debt. Will you support a 36% cap on the payday lending industry to create a more fair climate for Payday lenders to operate under, and protect working Virginia families from the crippling interest they currently charge?

[eileen]

Thanks, Brian! You are the best!

[Brian J. Moran]

I understand our time is up. I appreciate the opportunity to communicate with the Shad Plank audience. Live blogging is a new and important means to communicate interactively with the public.

Thank you for this very enjoyable experience.

[Brian J. Moran]

Kimball--

Virginians still needs and deserves a significant improvement in our transportation system - that includes efforts to improve multimodal like transit and rail. We need 21st century solutions to these problems.

There is certainly an opportunity to revisit the structure of our transportation funding mechanism when we return to Richmond in January. I, for one, will be urging us to revisit these ill-conceived abusive driver fees. They are a Washington-style gimmick designed to help Republicans avoid the tough choices. I've been proud to oppose them since they were first introduced in 2005 and look to revisiting them in January.

I've met and discussed the Regional Authority with a number of elected officials and leaders in the Hampton Roads area. They've expressed to me their desire to tweak the funding sources in the regional plan. I think we'll be able to accomplish that without damaging the Regional Authority.

[Brian J. Moran]

Thanks Eileen.

The Family Foundation and other organizations who report on the General Assembly activities provide an important service. The Family Foundations advocacy of issues they believe to be pro-family often differ from mine. For example, they opposed Gov. Warner's budget reform in 2004 which made a record investment in education and secured our designation as the best managed state in the nation. Their advocacy of the Marshall/Newman amendment was also dissapointing. While the Republican legislature debated who and who should not enter a contract, one million Virginians went without a contract for health insurance. Growing up in a family of seven and now being a father of two young children, I feel confident that I have a grasp of what it means to be pro-family. However, it is unlikely that I will ever recieve the Family Foundation's Legislator of the Year Award.

[Brian J. Moran]

Thanks Dan. Good to see you with the other Virginia Tech Young Dems this weekend.

The Democratic House candidates that are running this
November are top quality individuals who will secure a change in the failed leadership of the General Assembly in Richmond, end the partisan gridlock and enable us to move forward on an important agenda focused on making fiscally responsible improvements to our healthcare system, environmental protections, strengthening our schools, and securing a brighter future for all Virginians.

[Brian J. Moran]

Vivian--

Virginians should have the ability to choose their elected representatives, representatives shouldn't chose their voters. I'm going to continue to push this issue in the minority and the majority until we get fair lines drawn for our districts. I can only hope we can get it done before the next redistricting.

For several years I've been proud to sponser legislation creating a non-partisan/bi-partisan redistricting commission. I'll continue to do so until this becomes a reality.

[Brian J. Moran]

Thanks for another good question, Kimball.

I'm confident that we will have a Democratic Senate and make substantial gains in the House of Delegates this fall. I've been proud to help support our Senate candidates this year and they are all doing a tremendous job. Particular congratulations to my counter parts in the Senate - Minority Leader Dick Saslaw and Caucus Chair Mary Margaret
Whipple.

Having a Democratic Senate and more moderate House of Delegates will provide three significant changes in Virginia(1) it will ensure reliable partners for Governor Kaine in his agenda for the remainder of his term; (2) it protects Virginia from hyper partisan one-sided redistricting in 2011 (like the process in 2001) where voters are driven into heavily Republican or heavily Democratic districts to maximize party advantage; (3) it will give life to some initiatives that may build momentum in a new Democratic Senate and have the momentum to carry forward in the House.